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Taking of the Fortress Moons
"I have made Death wait for far too long. It is time we finally meet" -Last words of Lord Singe during the last stages of the Taking of the Fortress Moons- The Taking 'of the Fortress Moons '(2302/03/25-2302/06/22) was a series of battles, sieges and skirmishes during the Yadran Civil war against the separatist forces of rebel general Singe. Aside from a few skirmishes between patrols, the taking of the fortress moons is famous for being one of the few battles involving the Kingdom of Yadra and the Enlightened Kingdom of Ra'Tagrass were the two foes did not battle each-other openly, prefering instead to focus on Singe's isolated, fortified positions. Taking place during the latter stages of the civil war, the taking of the moons was a long, attrition war between exhausted forces. Battles and sieges which should have taken only days lasted weeks and even months, the lack of proper siege trains and training for this kind of warfare making many of the battles long clashes of attrition where numbers were king. The same way few of the besiegers were ready for the long battle ahead, the forces of Singe had neither the manpower nor the will to face the invaders as an united front. After the total defeat suffered by the rebel commander during the Iron Clash, most of the armies' trust on Singe had dissapeared. Many of those commanders who managed to survive the disaster had chosen to turn the territories under their command into their own fiefdoms, independent from their former master. Indeed, battles took place between the different "New Dukes", where treason, bribes and assassination became just as effective as rifles and artillery fire. The battle also was the last one of General Singe, one of the infamous commanders of the Second Quadrumvirate. Fighting side by side with what few loyal warriors remained under his command, his fortress was the last to fall to armies of the Enlightened Kingdrom of Ra'Tagrass. Aside from his burnt, winged helmet, nothing remained of him after the end of the siege. Prelude The New Dukes Right after Singe's total defeat during the Iron Clash, the rebel commander and his shattered armies returned to the fortress moons. Bloodied and leaving behind much of their best equipment and warriors, the army could no longer hope to take part in the civil war. Indeed, as many of Singe's most loyal knights had died during the battle, morale amongst the survivors was at an all time low. Despite attempts to keep his forces in good order, there was little Singe could do as, one by one, those fortresses previously under his command declared their independence. Lowly knights and officers previously to young and inexperienced to lead even a hundred warriors suddenly declared themselves lords, or were declared that way by their troops, few of whom wished to join Singe into another, hopeless battle. Fearing the arrival of the Kingdom of Yadra or maybe even Aithusa (Singe's greatest foe), these "New Dukes" quickly began to fought amongst one-another for what few territory, manpower and resources could be found in the moons. A good number of them were not even moons, but large asteroids nearly-drained of useful minerals. The weakest of these were swiftly conquered, with some of the New Dukes being quickly betrayed and executed by their stronger rivals only weeks after becoming high nobles. Alone except for a few of his trusted subordinates, Singe mostly fought to keep control of "Morachia", the largest moon and capital of his shrinking realm. Still a fearsome commander, he defeated all foes who tried to destroy him, slaying nearly a dozen of them in single combat. Even then, lacking the armies to counter-attack, he was forced to stay in Morachia, waiting for other powers to intervene in the fight. Sensing Weakness After a prief, yet crucial pause in the fighting, the Kingdom of Yadra and the Enlightened Kingdom of Ra'Tagrass could now focus their efforts once again in "recovering" lost territory. Weakened after years of war however, they had to direct their efforts towards less-defended positions and "safe" expeditions which would not see their precious armies ambushed or destroyed. As news arrived of Singe's defeat, the rulers of both Kingdoms chose to prepare fleets and raise new banners to take the fortress moons. Located in a strategically important area between both realms, control of these fortified positions could be the difference between death or survival for the exhausted realms. The Battle Minor Fortresses First to reach the moons, the Kingdom of Yadra easily forced Singe's scattered ships to flee before deploying its banners of the less-defended fortress moons. While fearful for their lives, the Karthemas defenders of most of these fortresses stood and fought even when outnumbered a hundred to one. Knowing what fate awaited them for betraying the Kingdom, many prefered to die blade in hand rather than face a public execution to serve as an example for the price of treason. Already a feared foe for both the Enlightened Kingdom and also the members of the Second Quadrumvirate, the Karthemas warrior known simply as the "Sibahari" was seen leading many of the assaults against these fortresses. In the outpost of Isharian, he took the heads of all 50 members of the garrison in a single hour. At the breach of Igsalon, he managed to hold the line against a strong rebel counter attack, slaying many before afterwards leading the charge which took the fortress and "liberated" the people of that moon. Aside from brute force, the agents of the Empress also tried to made deals with many of the fortresse's commanders. One, a young knight by the name of Ydastia, opened the gates of her fortress and allowed the armies of the Kingdom to surround and slaughter its 100 strong garrison in exchange for her life. Others followed, unwilling to give up their lives for a hopeless cause when there was hope for the future. Still, none of them were seen again after taking the ship back to the Kingdom. The "Eye" Closer to the borders of the Enlightened Kingdom were the richer, yet also far better fortified moons of the stronger New Dukes. Located in one of the last, mineral-rich asteroids in the area, the "Eye" was a mostly-subterranean fortress defended by a garrison of nearly half of a thousand warriors, most of them veterans of a dozen battles. Knowing well only death awaited them if they were captured, the knights and warriors of the garrison quickly turned the already-fortified mine into a true fortress, its many tunnels allowing the defenders to attack the besiegers from several directions at once. After nearly two weeks of useless, one-sided battles were the defenders held all the possible advantages, the forces of the Enlightened Kingdom decided to try less "orthodox" tactics against their foes. Using all manner of heavy, excavation machinery, the besiegers made the rock of the asteroid crack and tremble so much, nearly all of the Eye's tunnels collapsed, burying dozens of defenders alive in a manner of seconds. Still, the battle continued to be a bloody affair, with skirmishes taking place even weeks after the besieger commanders had declared victory. Singe's Laberynth Morachia saw the last and bloodiest battle of the Taking of the Fortress Moons. A master of siegecraft himself, Singe wasted little time turning the mostly-water-covered moon into a deadly laberynth of bunkers, trenches and dead ends surrounded by all manner of haevy weapons. Lacking many of these, he personally lead many lightening attacks against frontline elements of the Enlightened Kingdom's banners, going as far as to steal half of the besieger's artillery train even before they could deploy it against him. Fighting tooth and nail for every beach and island, Singe at first tried to make sure the foe was not able to build a strong base on the moon. Personally, he lead many assaults against Enlightened formations. These attacks were brutal, yet also costly for the defenders, to the point where Singe was at last forced to retreat back to his fortresse's walls after losing half his knights and a good number of militia. Yet even after building trenches and fortifications around Singe's main base, the besiegers knew this would be a long, bloody affair. Many officers and lords in the besieger army, including Banner commanders, died during the siege of Morachia. Some were ambushed by defender forces from an unexpected angle, or personally crushed under Singe's hammer during an attempt to breach the walls. Quickly, a battle between two modern armies became a medieval struggle where no-one asked for quarter or expected it. Defenders trying to flee through the sea were blown up by the guns of both Singe's loyalists or the attackers themselves. Four knights trying to slay the commander himself beheaded Singe's second in command instead and were all slaughtered the following day during a new assault against the fortresse's inner walls. Nobody, not even the 29 survivors of the garrison who survived the battle know of Singe's fate at the end of the siege. Be it because of a lucky artillery shell, a knife in the back or a lucky shot or thrust, during the last days of the siege, two levy warriors of the besieger army found the commander's winged helmet amongst the ruins of the moon's fortified palace. The rest of Singe's body or armor was never found. As the helmet was paraded across the ruins of the fortresse's streets, skirmishes and artillery fire became less and less common until, finally, the last of the defencers surrendered, their weapons broken and their guns empty. Horrified by the siege's bloodshed, Targu'Idaca, the seventh commander to take command of the besigeing army, covered the prisoners in chain rather than executing them. Enough blood had already been spilled. Aftermath Exhausted after months of warfare, neither the Kingdom of Yadra nor the Enlightened Kingdom of Ra'Tagrass continued the hostilities after the fall of Morachia. Instead, both sides fortified their conquered territories and deployed fresh garrisons, waiting for the other side to make a move. Category:Battles Category:Battles involving the Kingdom of Yadra